Hospital chart and identification card holder



Nov. 22, 1932. c, TALLEY 1,888,811

HOSPITAL CHART AND IDENTIFICATION CARD HOLDER Filed July 15, 1931 /3- M Aa INVENTOR n W (W 8" 5244:!

ITTORNEY Patented Nov. 22, 1932 ATENT O I CHARLOTTE TALLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HOSPITAL CHART AND IDENTIFICATION CARD HOLDER Application filed July 15,

This invention relates to hospital chart and identification card holders, and more particularly to openfaced chart holders, where by the patients chart is exposed to view.

The invention has for its object generally an improved construction of the character indicated which is etlicient, economical and readily manufactured.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction for hospital chart and card holders adapted for exposing the chart bearing the patients record in correlated relation with his or her identification card.

A further object is to provide an improved hospital chart and card holder of the character described in my prior Letters Patent 1,781,139, dated November 11, 1930.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. i

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of ele ments, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claim.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detail-ed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, showing a hospital chart and card holder constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 22 looking in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, 10 denotes generally a main receptacle having a rear wall 11 formed of any suitable sheet material, for example, wood, metal or a thermally hardened plastic material. This rear wall has its marginal portions projecting forwardly to provide side walls 12 making right angles with the rear wall. These side walls extend forwardly a sufiicient distance to accommodate one or more charts of any desired size and thickness; at such distance they bend forwardly again at right angles to the forfront wall panels 13 may be made secure, they 1931. Serial No. 550,844.

wardly-extendingportions to provide front wall portions, as indicated at 18. These front wall portions do not overlap the whole front of the chart holder, but are cut away to any desired extent, in order to expose to view the chart which is disposed in the receptacle, the chart being indicated'in broken lines at 14 in Fig. 2. This cutting-away may be accomplished in any desired manner, for example, by cutting away the whole central front portion as shown, leaving only marginal panels at the sides, to retain the chart in place.

The present chart holder is formed with a bottom that is designed to avoid collection C5 of dirt, grease or other matter that might tend to produce an unsanitary condition in a chart holder. A skeleton bottom is therefore provided which in the form illustrated, comprises strips 15 that project forwardly at right angles from the bottom edge of the rear wall 11 at points adapted to engage with the front wall panels 13. In order that theengagement of these strips 15 with the are preferably bent up at their tips as indicated at 16 so as to have a vertical overlapping attaching portion that may be made fast to the panels. In this manner, it is seen that c a rigid main receptacle is provided which holds the chart in a manner adapted to ex pose its entire front portion to view and has sufiicient supporting area at the bottom to prevent the chart from falling through without in any manner tending unduly to collect dirt or grease.

The rear wall. is also provided with suitable supporting means for holding the chart holder in place, for example on a bed or on a wall. The means shown comprises a central tab 17 r extended upward from the rear wall 11 and provided with a perforation at 18 adapted to fit over a hook or other wall support. The supporting means can take various forms depending upon the place where it is supported and while wall-supporting means are here shown, the invention is not limited thereto, since the specific supporting meansto be employed is no part of the present invention.

In order to identify-the chart in the holder with the patient whose condition is indicated on the chart, an auxiliary receptacle is mounted on a wall of the main receptacle in a position to be viewed simultaneously with the chart. This auxiliary receptacle may be of any suitable form adapted to hold a bed or other identification card and has its front wall sufiiciently cut away to expose the identifying indicia on such card. Such an auxiliary receptacle is shown at 20 mounted on the tab 17 at a point which is above the space intended to be occupied by the chart when in place in the holder. This auxiliary receptacle is shown in the form of a U-shaped frame, the corners of which are rectangular so.- as to receive an identifying card, here indicated at 2.1 and of the usual rectangular form. This U-shaped frame is secured on the main receptacle in any convenient manner which insures against ready displacement when the holder is subject to washing and sterilizing fluids, such as are in common use in hospital practice. Where the main receptacle holder is made of metal, the auxiliary receptacle may also be preferably made of metal, and brazed or welded in position. While the main receptacle and the auxiliary receptacle are thus indicated as made of the same materials, it is obvious that this is not necessarily the case, since two different. materials may be readily employed, for example when the mainportion of the chart holder is made of a thermally hardened composition, the auxiliary receptacle may be of metal or some other material and secured in position by suitable fastening means.

When in use, the chart holder of the present invention is mounted on a suitablev support, for example the head of a patients bed or the wall in a chart. room or by patients bed and a chart showing the patients condition mounted on a suitable back and inserted in the mainreceptacle as indicated at 14, such chartpreferably not extending above the tops oi": the frontwall. panels 13. In consequence,

the card 21 here shown disposed above the chart is at all times in full view of one viewing the chart. Consequently, the, patient and the record on the chart are at all times readily identified.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be madewithout departing from the scopethereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is I A hospital chart and identification card holder, comprising, incombination, a main receptacle having av skeleton bottom, a rear wall, side walls and a front wall, the latter having the entire central portion cut away to provide side panels to retain the chart when in place and expose to view the central portion of the chart, a tab extending upwardly from said rear wall and provided with supporting means for said main receptacle, and a substantially U-shaped auxiliary receptacle rigidly secured on said tab at a point above that to which the chart when in place normally reaches and adapted to receive a bed-card.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLQTTE TALLEY. 

